Morales in the Dark Knight Wiki
Welcome to the Morals in the Dark Knight Wiki This wikia consists of the observations of the morals seen throughout the second installment of the Dark Knight Trilogy: The Dark Knight. ''It will entail looking into the major characters of Christopher Nolan's work such as Batman (Christian Bale), the Joker (Heath Ledger), and Harvey "Two Face" Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The Morals of the Batman Bruce Wayne's story has many highs and lows to it, it's a "long and winding road" from him beginning as an abandoned orphan to becoming the "caped crusader," better known as Batman, but once he decided to become the one to change Gotham and overcome evil, he never turned back. In fact he saved Gotham from itself by being an outstanding man "in an indecent time." The Batman, an iconic, infamous figure, praised for his heroic acts by comic book characters and readers alike, seems to make any discussion worth while, especially when one decides to dwell upon and dive into why he makes the choices he does and study the standard that he holds himself to. Its an inspiring and refreshing aspect of any story. To see a natural, non-enhanced human being able to do supernatural things for the betterment of others is as good as it gets. Ultimately, there are numerous examples of the Batman displaying his unnatural, "fundamental beliefs" and demonstrating that he is a "''moral exemplar" ''of which all should strive to be more comparable. But one example that is poignant is his "one rule," which is to not kill, this guideline of his is also accompanied by his willingness to sacrifice his public image of Bruce Wayne in order to protect those most precious to him. However, there is one specific event that reigns supreme, and that is the final scene of the ''The Dark Knight ''when Batman and Commissioner Gordon agree that "The Dark Knight" must accept the blame and persecution from Gotham instead of the resentment falling upon the late, corrupt, Harvey Dent, for if it did, then all hope in what Gotham could be would die along with him. Batman, the savior of Gotham, accepted his role as the scapegoat for Gotham in exchange for a city free of resentment and full of hope. This act of his undeniably emulates that of amd allows the viewer to admire Batman and his sacrificial love that much more. Works Cited Mlawski, Shana. "The Philosophy Of Batman." Overthinking It. 24 July 2008. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. . Navran, Frank J. "Helping Clients Reduce Risk By Ensuring Ethical Conduct." Navran Associates. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. . Rhodes, Ryan Indy, and David Kyle Johnson. "The Virtuous Batman: Bruce Wayne as Moral Exemplar." The Virtuous Batman: Bruce Wayne as Moral Exemplar. Academia. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. . The Morals of The Joker ''The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules- The Joker ''With the moral infrastructure of Gotham on the verge of collapse, a psychopathic vigilante, known as the "Joker" , plans to drive Gotham over a cliff ("Madness, as you know, is alot like gravity. All it takes is a little push.")The psyche of Gotham falls closer and closer to rubble with every laugh and grimace from The Joker. Without any known background or identification present, The Joker reaks chaos on Gotham and brings the city down into his deep, dark hole. The Joker represents a belief system most closely defined as Nihilism . This is the belief that life has no meaning or purpose and that nothing that anyone does matters anyway. The Joker uses Gotham's best and brightest and dissolves them into corruption to show the city that all people are inherently evil. The best example is Harvey Dent, the city's District Attorney , and his transformation into Two-Face under The Joker's corruption. He takes the city's "white knight" and literally burns him into a vengeful killer. Through the clown's psychotic attempts at distopia in Gotham, we see the ethics of The Joker characterized as care-free havoc as he burns a pile of money ("It's not about the money. It's about sending a message. Everything burns!" ) The Joker represents more than a lunatic. He stands for a purpose, a force. He exemplifies the ugliness and immorality in society. After a failed attempt at getting Gotham citizens to blow themselves up, Batman questions The Joker ("What were you trying to prove? That everyone is as ugly as you?") In fact, this is precisely what The Joker is trying to show the city through corruption of people and ideals. He wants the city to realize it's flaws. Instead of viewing life as precious and worth preserving, The Joker sees it as one big game to show everyone that their moral stands on the shoulders of men who perish under the affects of gasoline and oozie bullets. Ultimately, he mirrors the ugly and the evil in society. Works Cited "The Dark Knight: The Joker's Worldview." ''Faith Film. 3 Aug. 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. . "How Christopher Nolan Made Batman Grow up." – Offscreen. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. . "Nihilism." ''- Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia''. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. . "Christopher Nolan Says Goodbye to the ‘Dark Knight’ Franchise." Screen Rant. 24 July 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. . Category:Browse Category:The Joker ConclusionCategory:Harvey Dent and Two face In conclusion, Nolan developed complex characters throughout the ''Dark Knight ''trilogy that contrasts that of their simple moral codes and perhaps that is why the audience is drawn in so close to this movie series. Nolan created relatable characters with distinct morals that could not be ignored by the public.